GROUP SAYS IT WON'T SUPPORT BOARD PLANS FOR NEW SCHOOL

A group of residents trying to persuade the Palm Beach County School Board to build a new high school here to serve communities in the western part of the county has decided not to support either of two specific sites to be considered at the board's meeting next week.

Instead, the group will stress that housing and jobs are available in the area, that both are drawing more minority families to the area, and that the minority families will help a new high school in the area achieve the racial balance required by the School Board.

The group, calling itself Palms West Educational Committee, met earlier this week at The Commons mall in Wellington, in preparation for the School Board's meeting, set for 7 p.m. April 17 at district headquarters, on Belvedere Road west of Interstate 95.

Of the two Wellington sites being considered by the School Board, the first is on Greenview Shores Boulevard north of South Shores Boulevard; the second is at the corner of State Road 7 and Forest Hill Boulevard. Both sites now are owned by Corepoint Corp., a firm set up by the Miami-based Vadia family when Alberto Vadia Sr., a developer, bought all of Wellington's still-vacant land from Gould Florida Inc., a subsidiary of Chicago-based Gould Inc.

The board also is considering a site on Belvedere Road near Florida's Turnpike. But at a previous board meeting, the group members said why they consider that site unacceptable:

(BU) It is under a flight path leading to and from nearby -- and expanding -- Palm Beach International Airport.

(BU) It is in a predominantly industrial area, so nearly all the students who would attend a school there probably would have to be bused.

(BU) Buses traveling to and from the site would be plagued by rush-hour traffic, creating an unsafe situation.

"We have to take the position that we'll take either of the Wellington sites," said Royal Palm Beach Mayor Sam Lamstein, a member of the group.

Michael Abate, organizer of the group and president of the Wellington-based Palms West Chamber of Commerce, agreed, adding, "There are two sites, so whichever one is more viable is fine with us. We don't care which one it is."

Instead of favoring one site over the other, the group decided to stress these points when talking to the School Board:

(BU) The west county communities are now split into two separate attendance areas, with Loxahatchee and the village of Royal Palm Beach students being bused to Twin Lakes High School, and Wellington teen-agers attending Forest Hill High School. The attendance areas should be redrawn, the group said, so all students can go to the same school.

(BU) Taken as a whole, the area -- especially rural Loxahatchee and the Royal Palm Beach Acreage development west of the incorporated village -- does provide affordable (low- to moderate-income) housing for minority families.

(BU) When two new area hospitals open in December, they will create jobs and prompt construction of more housing.

(BU) The combined opportunitities of jobs and housing will draw more minority families to the area.

(BU) By the time the high school would be finished, the area would be racially balanced, as required by School Board policy.

Corepoint's chief operating officer, John Zielenbach, said at a recent chamber meeting the School Board now seems to be favoring one of the two sites in Wellington over the Belvedere/Turnpike location.

"It appears that (school) officials may have changed their thinking," Zielenbach said. "We think we've been successful in convincing them there's a need for the school here."

Ultimately, the School Board's decision may depend on Corepoint's persistence, Lamstein said.

"I hate like the devil to put all the pressure on Corepoint," the mayor said. "But (the decision) will probably be handled (by Corepoint) behind the scenes.

"What we have to do is give (Corepoint and School Board officials) enough cause to think Wellington is the right (location)," Lamstein said.

The best way to do that is by proving to officals the area can provide affordable housing for minority families, said Village Council member Kathy Romani, a group member.

"We've been accused of white flight" by moving to the county's western communities, Romani said. "But we didn't come out here to escape the schools. We came out here for the affordable housing. This is the only place in the county where you can still build your own home."

"By building the school out here, you'll have a draw for minority families to come out here," group member Bill King said. "The school will act as a magnet . . . break up those segregated blocks (downtown)."

"The school would help minority families give due consideration to moving out here," King added.

Meanwhile, the area is growing so rapidly that a high school could be overcrowded by the time it is built, Abate predicted. "If you look at our area like a town of 45,000 people, don't you think we need a high school?"